


A Little Thing Called Trust

by SincerelyV



Series: Duckvember Prompts 2020 [2]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Day 8: Frenemy, Duckvember, Gen, Lena doesn't have a good time, Nervous lena, awkward lena, good bro Louie, post Jaw$, pre season one finale, these two could be chaotic besties after the shadow war, until she kind of does
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27474994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincerelyV/pseuds/SincerelyV
Summary: Louie Duck issmart, very smart. He spots the angles that others miss, finds the threats everyone else passes right over.As it stands, Lena De Spell is the biggest threat in this entire mansion. All it would take is one sideways glance and she knows, knows it would all be over.If Louie suspects her for even a moment, Lena will be out on her tail feathers before she can sayDe Spell.Knowing this, Lena swallows her panic and takes a seat on the other end of the couch.
Relationships: Louie Duck & Lena (Disney: DuckTales)
Series: Duckvember Prompts 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007547
Kudos: 65





	A Little Thing Called Trust

Lena isn't a fan of Louie Duck. 

Webby speaks the world of him, and his brother’s, for that matter, but Lena knows better. The kid is smart, too smart, for his- or her- own good.

In the days since Lena has begun visiting McDuck manor, it has become harder and harder to ignore the strange stares Louie sends her way when she and Webby pass by. Most nights, the triplets are off on their own, causing their own brand of chaos in a different wing of the house, leaving her and Webby to hike up to Webby’s room where they, usually, dig through old accounts of Scrooge’s adventures while Magica whispers in her ear until lights out.

But tonight, her luck, as it often does, seems to have run out. Webby is out with Scrooge and Dewey at the Money Bin until further notice and Huey and Donald are out repairing the houseboat, totally deaf to the outside world.

Normally, under such circumstances, Lena would head to Webby’s room on her own while Magica staked out the place. Today though, upon arrival, Beakley had answered the intercom as she normally did, let her in, and promptly sat her in the tv room. 

She glances around, confused as Beakley rounds the corner, duster in hand. Not a hello or the typical prompt to head upstairs to wait for Webby. Really, Lena thought she and Beakely were beyond this.

“Spring cleaning,” comes a voice at the other end of the couch.

A hefty weight sinks in Lena’s stomach as she turns to face Louie, who lounges against the arm of the worn couch, a can of pep in one hand and the tv blaring in front of him.

“What?”

“Spring cleaning,” he says again, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “Beakley likes the place to herself once a month for _deep cleaning_ ,” he adds dramatic air quotes here, “and banishes everyone else for the day. I only survived because she knows I won’t leave the couch- surprised she even let you in the door. Webby must have begged her.”

The idea that Webby wants her around enough to face down her own Granny is touching, if she thinks about it too much. This, of course, results in Lena stuffing the feeling down as deep into her subconscious as it will go to mull over later and turning back to the situation at hand. 

Which is, to put it bluntly, not great.

It’s not that Louie isn’t a good guy, if Webby is to believed- she is- it’s more the opposite, really. Lena isn’t, and never can be, a good person. Dark magic _literally_ runs through her veins, it’s her life source, her very being.

Louie Duck is _smart_ , very smart. He spots the angles that others miss, finds the threats everyone else passes right over. 

And as it stands, Lena De Spell is the biggest threat in this entire mansion. All it would take is one sideways glance and she knows, _knows_ it would all be over. If Louie suspects her for even a moment, Lena will be out on her tail feathers before she can say _De Spell_.

Knowing this, Lena swallows her panic and takes a seat on the other end of the couch.

The two of them sit in silence for a while. The sounds of Ottoman Empire reruns and a vacuum in the distance are the only barriers between Lena’s head and the wall. Across from her, Louie is looking less awkward as he scrolls absent-mindedly on his phone and occasionally snorts at the tv. To all the world, they give the appearance of two awkward acquaintances waiting for a mutual friend to return and rescue them. If only.

Her foot starts to kick at the bottom of the couch the longer she has to wait. This week’s sleepover had been planned last minute, so Lena had no way of knowing when Webby would be returning or if tonight’s visit would be worth it. The only thing Lena really has going for her right now is that Magica isn’t leering over her shoulder for once. Little victories.

“So,” Louie glances up from his phone, eyeing her with an expression Lena can’t place. “You and Webby, huh?”

Lena’s heart stops beating in her chest.

All at once, the world seems to stop spinning, leaving Lena to grasp with full force to stop at the edges of the couch so she doesn’t go flying into orbit. 

He knows, she doesn’t know how he knows, but he _knows_. Meaning if Louie had figured her out, it was only a matter of time until the others did as well.

The swell of panic that surges up her throat tempts Lena to shoot to her feet right then and there, but she swallows the feeling as well as she can and forces herself to act nonchalant. 

“Yeah? We’re friends, what about it?”

Louie shrugs, looking about as relaxed as Lena wishes she could feel right now. “Dunno, you two just seem close is all, wanted to know how that was going.”

Impossibly, he manages to sink lower into the couch. One arm has disappeared completely between the cushions, so only his hand sticks out, while the other is strewn across his stomach. He glances over at her, eyebrows raised, then looks back at the tv.

“Isn’t that how best friends are supposed to be?” It’s almost an honest question, neither her nor Webby had much experience in the ‘friendship’ category. For all Lena knew, they were doing this all wrong. 

“It’s weird, I guess, Webby didn’t know many people until recently, you know?”

She did, a bit. Webby didn’t bring it up much, but she had mentioned her isolation in the mansion before. Until Huey, Dewey, and Louie came along, she hadn’t left the mansion. Ever. She was like her very own Rapunzel, sitting up in her tower, with a grappling hook in place of yards and yards of golden locks. 

Not that Webby needed a prince to come rescue her. Chances were, she would leap out of the tower and figure out a plan on the way down. 

Louie goes on, eyes narrowing as he stares Lena down. “Look out for her, all right? Webby’s smart, but she’s still getting her land legs,” he leans closer, “I don’t want her trusting the wrong people.”

Ice creeps along Lena’s veins as Louie holds her gaze. She suddenly feels much smaller than she ever has before. If Magica were around, Lena had the feeling she would say to cut Louie out of the picture before he could rat her out to the rest of the family. But as it is, she stands firm and stares right back.

A beat passes, Louie softens. 

He leans back again, still watching her, then takes a long sip off his pep. After he swallows, he opens his bill again and sighs.

“Keep an eye on her. Webby really likes you, so, if she trusts you...so do I. “ His tone gets stern again, “don’t break that.”

The ice in her blood slowly begins to thaw as he speaks. Louie doesn’t suspect her, not yet. He’s just a brother looking out for his newly deemed sister. That, she can work with. 

Lena lets out a sigh of relief and nods. 

“I’ll guard it with my life.” 

As they fall back into a more comfortable silence, Lena leans into the cushions and smiles. She may not be able to trust Louie Duck, but she can respect him. Anyone willing to look out for their family like that is okay in her book. If the roles were reversed, she likes to think she would do the same.

She smiles.

Maybe, when Magica finally exacts her revenge, Lena can convince her to spare Louie, too.

**Author's Note:**

> This one is late, lol, but I really liked the prompt and thought these two would have an interesting dynamic to explore. We know Louie can see angles that the rest of the family tends to miss, so I can see him being someone Lena tries to avoid when trying to get to Scrooge’s dime. After all, if one of Scrooge’s beloved nephews is sus on her, it’s only a matter of time before that feeling makes its way up the grapevine to Scrooge himself and gets her found out.  
> Anywho! Enjoy, leave a comment if you like, and drop by my [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/pastthebutterflies)! I talk about ducks over there just as much as I do here.


End file.
